Medical devices are essential to the provision of quality reproductive health (RH) services. Rational selection of medical devices is a crucial component in ensuring improved access to reproductive health commodities, followed by efficient procurement, logistical systems, rational use and demand which are equally important.

A review of existing United Nations (UN) lists of essential medicines and medical devices, including (1) The draft UNFPA/WHO Essential Drugs and Other Commodities for Reproductive Health Services List (2003) and (2) The Interagency UNFPA/UNAIDS/WHO Reproductive Health Medicines and Commodities List reported a lack of consensus among various UN agencies on essential medicines and medical devices for RH. Lack of consistent advice to countries on selection of RH medicines and medical devices may hamper access to them. Thus, this review was the catalyst towards the development of one interagency list of essential medicines for RH and one interagency list for essential medical devices for RH...